LabattBlue Posted March 18, 2010 Report Posted March 18, 2010 You see smaller players excel at both wing and center and you hear things like it is good to have bigger centers to provide some size in the middle of the rink. That being said, where should Ennis play or is it too early in his career for the Sabres to make the call? I am pretty sure he played both positions in juniors and in Portland this year.
VansTheMans Posted March 18, 2010 Report Posted March 18, 2010 It may be too early to call. Ennis strikes me as Kane/Briere like. A small, but very talented puck handler that can FIND space to make the play. I'm not concerned about what position he plays in so much as what players he develops a chemistry with. One thing is for certain though: The Sabres could use some size down the middle.
Xray Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 If he can win a faceoffs let's just hope he isn't a player who excels at it and can't do much of anything else.
tom webster Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 If he can win a faceoffs let's just hope he isn't a player who excels at it and can't do much of anything else. Gee, I wonder who X ray is?
shrader Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 Gee, I wonder who X ray is? But it's such a valid point when talking about a prospect who is known for his scoring touch. :wallbash:
carpandean Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 But it's such a valid point when talking about a prospect who is known for his scoring touch. :wallbash: Why stay on topic when you see the opportunity to make a veiled attack on a player (Goose) that you dislike.
Stoner Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 Yup, it's beat up the Noob time again. No veiled attacks on players allowed here!
bottlecap Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 Why stay on topic when you see the opportunity to make a veiled attack on a player (Goose) that you dislike. (the guy who could have and should have buried a wide-open shot, but hit the post, for a victory v. Red Wings...and should have taken the blame instead of Myers)
inkman Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 (the guy who could have and should have buried a wide-open shot, but hit the post, for a victory v. Red Wings...and should have taken the blame instead of Myers) How many open net misses have Roy/Vanek/Connolly had this season? More than I care to remember...
Xray Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 Gee, I wonder who X ray is? He's one of the few fans who can see through the bullsh*t.
Xray Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 Why stay on topic when you see the opportunity to make a veiled attack on a player (Goose) that you dislike. No, your post was a veiled attempt to throw accolades at Gaustad and imply that faceoffs are the most important barometer for a player, it needs to be because that's the main thing Gaustad can do. We didn't see fans place this heavy emphasis on faceoffs until they realized that's the main thing there is go on when it comes to Gaustad. So now they continually brow beat fans who aren't taken back by Guastad as a key player and future captain with how absolutely vital his faceoffs are. It's gone to an extreme and to the point of being sick<<< THAT is what I dislike. If you don't do anything with the puck after a faceoff, the faceoff loses a lot of it's value. Would you agree with that? If Ennis can bring needed skill and play making to this lineup resulting in moving low skill players back to the 4th line his faceoffs won't be an issue with me. The most telling part of your post is the phrase "attack on a player (Goose) that you dislike." I don't like or dislike the player, that is the difference which separates the two different types of fans. There are hockey fans and there are player fan club types. Fans that swoon over select players cannot relate to and completely disdain the pragmatic fans who don't.
carpandean Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 No, your post was a veiled attempt to throw accolades at the Goose and imply that faceoffs are the most important barometer for a player, it needs to be because that's the main thing Gaustad can do. If anything, my post was a veiled attempt to insult Tim Kennedy's (not to mention Connolly's, Hecht's and previously MacArthur's) inability to win a faceoff. I never said, nor even implied, that faceoffs are the most important barometer. Winning faceoffs does not make a center good. Not winning faceoffs, though, can be a big fault with one. Gaustad is not a top-line center simply because he has one of the better faceoff % in the league. He's a third/fourth-line center, at best. Connolly is a decent second, maybe first-line center despite not being great on the dot. I'd like us to win more faceoffs, because it does help. If Ennis can win faceoffs, it will make me feel a little better about him being a center. However, it will be his playmaking, puck-handling and even defensive abilities that will determine whether that's a little better than not a chance, maybe or ###### yeah!
bottlecap Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 How many open net misses have Roy/Vanek/Connolly had this season? More than I care to remember... touche.
Xray Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 If anything, my post was a veiled attempt to insult Tim Kennedy's (not to mention Connolly's, Hecht's and previously MacArthur's) inability to win a faceoff. I never said, nor even implied, that faceoffs are the most important barometer. Winning faceoffs does not make a center good. Not winning faceoffs, though, can be a big fault with one. Gaustad is not a top-line center simply because he has one of the better faceoff % in the league. He's a third/fourth-line center, at best. Connolly is a decent second, maybe first-line center despite not being great on the dot. I'd like us to win more faceoffs, because it does help. If Ennis can win faceoffs, it will make me feel a little better about him being a center. However, it will be his playmaking, puck-handling and even defensive abilities that will determine whether that's a little better than not a chance, maybe or ###### yeah! So then what in the world is your issue with my comment? Ennis's faceoffs aren't at or near the top of the list of what I would like to see him to bring. To begin with there's enough randomness to faceoffs that the top players rarely win 60%. It doesn't make sense to me to be overly preoccupied with an area of the game that can't be come close to being dominated. In fact it's closer to a coin flip than anything else. If a player is 52% on faceoffs he only wins 4 more than the opponent for every 100 taken. How many games will it take for player to faceoff 100 times? And when I get those few added faceoffs how much good does it do me when I have 4th line players out there? The returns on a situation like that are meager at best. Even at 58% or 59% the impact has been way overblown by fans.
Xray Posted March 19, 2010 Report Posted March 19, 2010 How many open net misses have Roy/Vanek/Connolly had this season? More than I care to remember... Well you have a selective memory then. Gaustad has misfired enough to go 25 games with 1 puck, and 1 puck only, finding the back of the net. So I don't see a comparison of any kind here and I don't see where BottleCap reads a touche in this.
Calvin Posted March 23, 2010 Report Posted March 23, 2010 anyone here know what the roster limitations are for the playoffs? i know in case of injury we get as many call-ups as we need (is it really?).. once the AHL season is over can we bring Ennis, Mancari, Gerbe, Weber, etc up here as part of the playoffs squad?
inkman Posted March 23, 2010 Report Posted March 23, 2010 Well you have a selective memory then. Gaustad has misfired enough to go 25 games with 1 puck, and 1 puck only, finding the back of the net. So I don't see a comparison of any kind here and I don't see where BottleCap reads a touche in this. You don't think our skill guys have missed more open nets than Gaustad? How many scoring chances has he even been in on this year? We get it. You hate Paul Gaustad. Great. I hate Thomas Vanek. Let's move on.
Stoner Posted March 23, 2010 Report Posted March 23, 2010 Gaustad came down the left wing on the power play against Carolina -- three on two -- and no one has missed a net that badly since one of the Washington Wizards lost his contact lens. It was actually pretty funny.
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